How we engage.
Plenor operates in three modes, and the right mode is determined by where the operating gap sits. Each has a named buyer situation, a written scope, and an exit shape. Pick by the problem, not by the title.
If the strategy is fresh and nothing has shipped, the engagement is fixed-scope and phase-billed. If the role exists but the seat is empty, the engagement is fractional and time-billed. If the board needs an outside read on the operation, the engagement is short, written, and fee-fixed.
Your board approved the plan. Nothing has shipped.
You closed the round on the strategy. The deck named the metrics, the workstreams, and the timeline. Six weeks in, the operating cadence has not changed, the workstream owners are interviewing for help they cannot find, and the founder is still chairing every cross-functional decision. The strategy is not the problem. The operating engine to run it does not exist yet.
What we do in this mode
- Install the weekly operating cadence (Monday team check, mid-week problem work, Friday wrap) with named attendees, named inputs, and a written meeting charter.
- Build the metric tree the operating leads run from, mapped one-to-one to named owners.
- Write the SOPs for the three to five recurring operational decisions the founder is currently making.
- Stand up the vendor scorecard and SLA framework for the operational vendors named in the plan.
- Produce the capacity model the next two quarters of hiring will run against.
- Hand off to a named internal operating owner with 30 days of post-handoff support.
The shape of the engagement
Ninety to 180 days. One Plenor operator in the engagement, two to three days per week onsite or remote depending on the operating geography. Weekly written status, monthly executive readout. Week 4 deliverable: operating diagnostic plus 30-60-90 day plan. Week 8 deliverable: operating cadence live, scorecards in use, first two SOPs shipped. Week 12 deliverable: vendor scorecard live, capacity model in use by finance, handoff document at 70%. End-of-engagement deliverable: full playbook plus named internal owner running the system.
Who this is for
- Series A to Series C operators with a recently approved strategy and a six to nine month operating ramp.
- Founders running three or more workstreams personally that should belong to operating leads.
- Operating leaders who inherited a plan they did not author and need a working engine, not more advice.
Who this is NOT for
- Pre-revenue companies without operating math to install against.
- Companies looking for a strategy revision. We do not rewrite the deck.
- Companies looking for permanent operating leadership. Hire a COO.
Pricing structure
Fixed-scope engagements, 90 to 180 days, milestone-billed at phase gates.
The role exists. The seat is empty.
The org chart has a head of operations, a VP of supply, or a COO. The role is open, the search is in month four, and the function cannot wait another five months for the right hire to start and ramp. The interim options are doing the work themselves on top of their own role, hiring a contractor who needs management, or pulling forward a junior internal candidate who is not ready. None of the three is the right call. The function needs a senior operator in the seat now, with a written end date.
What we do in this mode
- Sit in the named role for two to three days per week, with the title and the operating authority that go with it.
- Run the operating cadence for the function (weekly, monthly, quarterly) as the accountable owner.
- Make the hiring calls, the vendor calls, and the operating tradeoff calls inside the function.
- Coach the rising internal candidate or partner with the executive search firm on the full-time profile.
- Build the operating documentation the permanent hire will inherit on day one.
- Exit the seat on a written date, with a 30-day overlap once the permanent hire starts.
The shape of the engagement
Six to twelve months. Two to three days per week in the seat. Weekly written status to the founder or board sponsor, monthly readout to the operating leadership team. Week 4: operating cadence running with Plenor in the chair. Week 8: first hiring decision or vendor decision shipped with Plenor as accountable owner. Week 12: rising internal candidate plan or executive search profile finalized. End-of-engagement: full-time hire seated, 30-day overlap, written handoff.
Who this is for
- Founders with an open senior operating role and a hiring process that needs four to six more months to close right.
- Boards bridging a known operating gap during a transition.
- Companies maturing a function past the founder, where a full-time hire is the right next step but not the right immediate step.
Who this is NOT for
- Companies looking for permanent fractional coverage. The engagement ends.
- Companies using fractional as a way to defer the full-time decision indefinitely.
- Companies needing a board operator or independent director seat. Different product.
Pricing structure
Monthly retainer, 2 to 3 days per week, 6 to 12 month commitments.
The board needs an outside read on the operation.
The deal is closing, the round is closing, or the quarter is closing, and the operating reality on the ground is not yet clear to the people writing the check. A consulting firm will produce a market deck. A finance diligence firm will produce a quality of earnings. Neither answers the question the board is actually asking, which is: can this operation run the plan it has committed to running. The board needs an operator to spend two to six weeks inside the business and write down the answer.
What we do in this mode
- Sit inside the operation for two to six weeks with full access to the operating cadence, the operating data, and the operating leadership.
- Build the operator-grade view of the metric tree, the capacity model, and the operating risk register.
- Write the report. Findings, evidence, named risks, named recommendations. Twelve to twenty pages, no slideware.
- Deliver an executive readout to the board, the sponsor, or the founder, with the operating team in the room.
- Hand over the working files so the internal team can run with the diagnostic if they choose.
- Stay available for clarifying questions for 30 days post-delivery.
The shape of the engagement
Two to six weeks. One Plenor operator. Onsite for the first week, remote for the balance, onsite again for the readout. Week 1: scoping interviews and data pull. Week 2 to 4: analysis, findings, draft report. Final week: written report delivered, executive readout scheduled. Deliverables: 12 to 20 page written report, executive readout, 30-day clarifying-questions window.
Who this is for
- PE sponsors during diligence or in the first 100 days post-close.
- Boards triggering a check-in on a portfolio company between cycles.
- Founders who want a written outside read on the operating engine before the next board cycle.
Who this is NOT for
- Companies looking for a strategy refresh. We do not write strategy.
- Companies looking for a financial diligence product. Different firm.
- Companies looking for ongoing operating presence. See Mode 1 or Mode 2.
Pricing structure
Day-rate or fixed-fee, 2 to 6 week engagements, written report and executive readout.